


Even When

by DjDangerLove



Series: Tarlos March Madness [15]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Fluff, Halloween, M/M, everyone is happy and nothing hurts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 04:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30066840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DjDangerLove/pseuds/DjDangerLove
Summary: TK walks through Carlos’ front door on October 1st and walks right back out. He stands on the doorstep having a silent moment of freaking the hell out before the door swings wide and Carlos leans through it. He slouches against the frame, relaxed and calm, like nothing is out of sorts and grinning at TK with amused confusion.Or: Carlos loves Halloween and is on a mission to prove to TK how fun it can be.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Tarlos March Madness [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189232
Comments: 16
Kudos: 192





	Even When

**Author's Note:**

> Tarlos March Madness #15 of 31

TK walks through Carlos’ front door on October 1st and walks right back out. He stands on the doorstep having a silent moment of freaking the hell out before the door swings wide and Carlos leans through it. He slouches against the frame, relaxed and calm, like nothing is out of sorts and grinning at TK with amused confusion. 

“May I ask what in the world you are doing?” He asks, laughing quite differently from the evil laugh coming from the TV speakers inside. TK blinks at him, willing himself not to get distracted by how loose Carlos’ curls are or how the ridiculous, bright orange shirt with a pumpkin on it hugs his frame in all the right places. 

He holds up a finger, shoves Carlos back through the door and closes it between them. Taking a deep breath, he opens it again to the same terrifying sight as before and swings it back closed on a, “Nope!”

Carlos opens it from the other side, confusion much more prominent as he lets his jaw hang open for a moment while staring at TK standing outside. “Are you having a stroke?”

“If I keep looking at the color of your shirt I might.”

Carlos glances down, smiling back at the jack-o-lantern grinning there and then looks back to TK. “You don’t like Perry?”

“It has a _name_?” TK demands, face equally as dumbfounded as Carlos’ had been earlier. 

“My six year old niece gave me this shirt. She names everything.”

“No,” TK insists with a shake of his head. “You’re not guilt-tripping me into liking that shirt.”

“Is that all you don’t like?” Carlos asks, an air of smugness that _does not _make heat stir in TK’s belly. He steps back inside the house, holding the door wide and pointedly looking at the new decor. “Or is someone afraid of Halloween?”__

__“I am _not_ afraid of Halloween,” TK defends, hands coming to his hips like he’s the same age as Carlos’ niece. “I’m just not a fan of it.”_ _

__“What?!”_ _

__TK rolls his eyes and marches past Carlos into the living room, trying to hide a wince at the creepy skeleton figures holding candles on the coffee table. Carlos shuts the door before coming to stand in front of him, holding him in a loose hug and narrowing his eyes. “How can you not be a fan of Halloween?”_ _

__TK squirms with an embarrassment he can’t hide from. “Is this going to be a problem?”_ _

__“What?” Carlos asks for what feels like the hundredth time. He leans in and kisses the frown off of TK’s face. “Of course, not. I just assumed you’d be into it at least a little bit.”_ _

__“I did not expect you to be this into it, to be honest,” TK chimes in._ _

__“If it bothers you I can take the decorations down.”_ _

__“No! God, no Carlos it’s nothing that serious. I promise,” He assures, hugging him tight and silently laughing at the stupid candy bowl with an automated witch’s hand in it. “Halloween was just never a big deal growing up. Busy parents and apartment living just never mixed well with the normal traditions, so it was mostly just watching a scary movie and eating the bag of mixed candy my mom or dad bought for me.”_ _

__Carlos hums like he’s just been told him the saddest story ever told and kisses the top of his head. “Well, we’re gonna change that this year.”_ _

__TK jolts back. “We’re what now?”_ _

__———————_ _

__TK had always been under the impression that Halloween occurred every year on the thirty-first of October, but Carlos Reyes has made it his mission in life to disprove that notion since he walked through the door the day a halloween store bomb went off in Carlos’ house._ _

__Admittedly, that’s not a fair assessment of Carlos’ decorations. The man has style and taste and it comes through in the way he decorates for what is now well-known to be his favorite holiday. It’s just that for someone who only had a pumpkin window cling and a plastic spider as decorations growing up, it seems a bit much. He gets used to it though, enjoys it even when they sit down for dinner and Carlos smiles at him in the glow of the candelabra standing between them and will always remember the sound of the man’s laugh each time TK jumps when one of the animatronic decorations goes off when he walks by them._ _

__Aside from the decorations, Carlos’ Operation: Celebrate Halloween with TK All Month Long is another thing TK has had to get used to. Not that it’s hard to watch the man he loves delight in things he’s taken for granted his entire life, but there’s _a lot_ of stuff to do to celebrate Halloween properly according to Carlos. _ _

__It’s the fourth of October, the first Saturday of the month, and Carlos wakes up at the ass crack of dawn to start a pot of coffee and dress in jeans, boots and a plaid, dark green flannel over a black shirt that makes TK want to take it all off in an appreciative way. When he’s denied doing so and stripped of all the warm blankets on the bed, he demands to know what he’s done to deserved such punishment._ _

__“It’s the first Saturday of October. We have to pick our first pumpkins.”_ _

__TK blinks at him standing at the foot of the bed, trying to decide which train of thought he should chase. After a few seconds, it’s the word _first_ that he can’t seem to get out of his head. _ _

__“Our…first pumpkins?”_ _

__“Yes, now get up and get dressed. We’re leaving in ten.”_ _

__Well, fuck. That didn’t help him a bit. He debates following orders all of the ten seconds after Carlos leaves the room before he hears the man call, “Now, TK!” like he knows he was just laying there. He grumbles under his breath, cursing his very attractive boyfriend who wears plaid and loves Halloween way too much. He showers quickly and takes a page out of Carlos’ book by dressing warmly just in case, but forgoes plaid for his usual combination of a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. He thinks he’ll be forgiven for not wearing paid because Carlos isn’t a monster and the maroon hoodie he’s wearing belongs to his boyfriend._ _

__He makes it downstairs in record time, glaring at the gargoyle on the side table by the staircase before it shrieks at him and shuffles into the kitchen just as Carlos is pouring coffee into a thermos._ _

__“Babe, I love you, but why did we have to get up this early to get pumpkins? The grocery store sells plenty of them all month long.”_ _

__“We’re not going to the grocery store, TK,” Carlos says, passing him the thermos of coffee and a travel mug. “We’re going to a pumpkin patch.”_ _

__For the second time that month, TK finds himself asking, “We’re what now?”_ _

__———————-_ _

__Carlos passes two pumpkin patches in the first forty minutes of their drive and continues on for another hour before pulling into one that looks like a county fair. Carlos pays thirty-five dollars for the two of them to get a lime green wristband with ghosts stamped on it before the man takes his hand and leads them to the entrance of a corn maze._ _

__“You’re serious?”_ _

__Carlos grins, the side of his mouth curving up in that adorable way it does when he’s trying to play it cool. “It’s a trad-“_ _

__“Tradition. Yes, I know. Lead the way then, Indiana Jones,” TK says, smacking him on the ass with a wink before Carlos tugs him forward by the hand._ _

__They spend the next thirty minutes arguing about which bent corn stalk they’ve already passed, two of which has TK running from Carlos after shoving him into the corn for jumping around the corner and scaring him. Carlos catches him and playfully tugs him into a headlock before kissing him on the head and telling him he found the way out ten minutes ago if he’s ready to do something else._ _

__They decide to eat a _romantic_ dinner of kettle corn and pumpkin pie while sitting on actual bales of hay. The warm line of Carlos pressed up against him as they eat what Carlos’ swears is the best slice of pumpkin pie he will ever eat is worth the piece of hay poking him in the ass through his jeans. It’s a great piece of pie, but it tastes even better when he kisses the flavor off of Carlos’ lips before they move on to the next thing his boyfriend deems a Halloween tradition. _ _

__Of course, the next thing has them sitting on more bales of hay again, but these are stacked on a trailer being pulled by a tractor towards the pumpkin patch. He enjoys the way Carlos intertwines their hands and runs his thumb up and down his fingers as he tells the story of the time his sister fell off the hayride when they were kids. The ride ends too soon, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on it as Carlos is tugging him towards the pumpkins and telling him to try to think about what he wants to carve in order to pick the best one. He figures now isn’t the best time to tell Carlos he’s never carved anything more than triangle faces so he waits until Carlos picks what he deems the perfect shape and finds one similar._ _

__——————_ _

__They don’t get around to carving their pumpkins until a few days later. TK is content to let them sit on the counter until they start to rot, but Carlos hops up from the dinner table one night and begins collecting specific utensils TK has never seen before from the back of one of the kitchen drawers._ _

__They sit out on the back porch steps under the purple bat string lights TK had jokingly strung up while Carlos was at work one day, pumpkins between their legs as they hollow out the insides. Carlos picks the seeds out of the innards with the promise of roasting them with an array of seasonings TK doesn’t bother to remember, but will appreciate when he finds a snack pouch packed in his work bag with a ridiculous _I love you_ note stuck to it a few days later._ _

__Carlos spends an hour carving an intricate design of a wolf into his pumpkin and TK uses every minute of it pretending to be doing something just as tedious. When Carlos turns his pumpkin around with proud grin on his face at what is clearly a masterpiece of a jack-o-lantern, TK feels suddenly very foolish for the triangle face grinning back at him. He attempts to deflect all the attention to Carlos’ pumpkin, fawning over it a bit too much as he stands with his pumpkin carving pressed against his belly while retreating into the house._ _

__“Hey, wait!” Carlos says, jumping up from the steps and following after him. “Let me see yours!”_ _

__TK sighs in defeat as he sets his pumpkin on the counter and sheepishly leans away from it. “If we put it out in the backyard at least the rabbits will enjoy it.”_ _

__Carlos huffs a laugh, nose scrunching with an adorable expression of confusion. “What are you talking about? We’re gonna put fake candles in them and set them on the front porch.”_ _

__“Yours, yes. Mine, no,” TK counters while dejectedly trying to get the top of his pumpkin to fit back on right. Carlos reaches out and stops him from jamming it down the wrong way. “I made three triangles and whatever the hell kind of shape this is for the mouth and yours looks like you summoned the spirit of Michelangelo.”_ _

__“The Ninja Turtle?”_ _

__TK blinks at him, slow and annoyed. “The famous sculptor, you dork.”_ _

__“To be fair, they are named after-“_ _

__TK reaches into the bag of innards, pulls a out a stringy handful and plops it right on top of Carlos’ head. His boyfriend stands there, frozen in shock for all of ten seconds before giving a villainous laugh. “Ohhh, you better run.”_ _

__It’s a hot chase, one that circles the living room furniture a couple of times before TK thinks he can fake left and go right around the kitchen island, but Carlos corners him against the cabinets, boxing him in with his arms. Carlos teases him with his mouth, leans far enough in to nip at TK’s lip but pulls back from the chase with that same villainous laugh as before._ _

__“You really think I’m going to let you off that easy?” Carlos asks, pumpkin innards still clinging to his hair._ _

__TK bites back a laugh at the sight, juts his jaw out a bit too confident and says, “What do you plan to do to me Officer?”_ _

__Carlos leans in close, breath hot against TK’s neck. “That depends.”_ _

__TK fists his boyfriend’s shirt in his hands to keep him from leaning away. “On what?”_ _

__He feels the tip of Carlos’ tongue on his jaw, teeth on his earlobe before he pulls back like nothing happened, looking every bit put together. “If you can name all four of the Ninja Turtles.”_ _

__The laugh that escapes him is bright and loud, too quick to tame, but he tries by kissing it into Carlos’ skin. “I hate you, Carlos Reyes,” he says, but they both know he means the opposite by how tight he hugs him._ _

__——————_ _

__Laying in bed that night, well after Carlos washed the pumpkin guts out of his hair and both of their jack-o-lanterns are flickering in fake candlelight on the front porch, TK stares at the ceiling unable to sleep. Despite wanting to blame it on the fact that he couldn’t name all four Ninja Turtles, therefore had to watch the entire 1990’s trilogy instead of participating in something more _physically demanding_ , he knows that’s not why he can’t sleep. _ _

__Tomorrow is the twenty-second of October meaning there’s only ten days left of Carlos’ favorite time of the year. Twenty-two days ago, he couldn’t wait for November first, but laying here now thinking of how all their kisses taste like caramel and chocolate when Carlos gets home from work because the man immediately eats a miniature snickers bar from the candy dish when he steps through the door or how hot apple cider warms him from the inside out as they sit out back on the patio to watch the sunset makes him regret not savoring every second of October._ _

__“Your thinking is too loud,” Carlos mumbles against his pillow as he blindly reaches out to tug TK against him. TK rolls over with a whispered apology and lays his head on his boyfriend’s bare chest and tries to relax under the hand that slowly starts massaging up and down his spine. “What are you worrying about?”_ _

__“Who said I was worrying?”_ _

__“You always hog all the blankets unless you’re too worried about something else to think about being cold. I have plenty of the comforter. Ergo, you’re worrying.”_ _

__TK sighs, props himself up on an elbow to stare down at the sleepy way Carlos blinks at him in the dark. “I’m sorry I wasn’t on board with all the Halloween stuff at first.”_ _

__Carlos adjusts his head on the pillow, eyes losing some of their drowsiness as he waits for TK to elaborate._ _

__“I’m actually…kind of sad I wasn’t. I know it means a lot to you and I have enjoyed most of it.”_ _

__Carlos’ grin spreads across his whole face as he tugs TK down to kiss him. “I told you I would change your mind about Halloween.”_ _

__TK lets Carlos have the victory knowing the man has changed his mind about a lot of other things, too._ _

__—————_ _

__“I change my mind,” TK says, gripping Carlos’ hand hard enough to hurt. “I hate Halloween.”_ _

__“Oh, stop it,” Carlos laughs tugging TK forward in line against his best efforts not to move._ _

__“Don’t I get at least one veto? I mean a whole month of stuff and never once have I complai-“  
Carlos cuts him off with a quick brow raised in disbelief._ _

__“I’ve literally done everything you wanted to do. Can’t we just skip this one thing?”_ _

__“Nope,” with a pop of the ‘p’ is the only response he gets before Carlos buys their tickets and a man with a fake knife sticking out of his head tells them to wait in a queue off to the side. Carlos tries to wiggle his hand free to put away his wallet, but TK refuses to let go as high pitched screams echo from behind the door they’re fixing to go through. Carlos laughs at his nervousness, but doesn’t try to pry his hand away again._ _

__“Why do you even like these things?” TK asks, motioning towards the haunted house. “You’re a cop. Don’t you get enough of an adrenaline rush at work?”_ _

__“Eh,” Carlos answers, ignoring the jump TK gives at another round of distant screaming. “It’s good for the reflexes.”_ _

__TK glares at him wishing he could let go of his hand. “I’ve never hated you more than I do right now.”_ _

__“Have you ever hated me?”_ _

__“No.”_ _

__Carlos seems to think about it, going so far as to squish his face in a dramatic show of contemplation before shrugging. “Then I can live with it.”_ _

__TK bumps into him, making them both stumble as a man with fake blood all over him ushers them towards the door. TK makes one last effort of getting out of line with the excuse of needing to use the bathroom, but Carlos is not at all fooled._ _

__“Come on, I’ll protect you,” Carlos encourages while having the nerve to bow like he’s fucking Prince Charming and kiss the back of TK’s hand with a laugh._ _

__“You owe me for this.”_ _

__Carlos wraps his arm around his shoulders as they enter the haunted house, pressing a kiss to the side of his head. “Whatever you say , Tiger…or should I say scaredy cat?”_ _

__————————_ _

__TK spends the last week before Halloween making sure everyone at the 126 knows that Carlos was the first one to scream out loud at the haunted house and goes so far as to stop by the precinct during Carlos’ lunch break to twirl in his desk chair while eating the pack of skittles he found in the top drawer and telling his partner, Mitchell, all about it. Carlos pretends to be annoyed, but considering he never tries to stop him from doing any of those things and even asks TK to stay awhile longer while he fills out paperwork, TK knows he doesn’t actually mind._ _

__The morning of the thirty-first comes quicker than TK could ever imagined it could and waking up to Carlos pressing excited kisses down his neck makes it bittersweet. The day passes in a blur, one minute he’s eating ghost shaped pancakes and the next he’s standing in the bathroom questioning all his life decisions while staring at himself in the mirror._ _

__Carlos circles the doorframe, leaning against it like the tall, dark, and handsome man he is and adjusts the brown fedora on his head. He winks at TK in the mirror and pushes up the brim of his hat with his index finger while his eyes trail the entirety of TK’s costume. “The things I’d do to you in the back of a DeLorean.”_ _

__TK groans and turns from his reflection so he doesn’t have to look at himself in white washed denim and a red vest. “Remind me again why you get to be Indiana Jones?”_ _

__Carlos steps forward, costume hugging him in all the right places and shirt unbuttoned down to the bottom of his sternum. He takes TK’s face in his hands and kisses him like their in the fucking movie. “Judd said we all had to dress as characters from an 80’s movie. I can’t help that one of the only five movies you’ve seen is Back to the Future.”_ _

__TK scowls at the playful jab. “I just don’t like watching movies. They’re too long and I-“_ _

__“Can’t sit till. Yes, I’m aware,” Carlos chuckles, pressing a kiss to his hair despite the bulky sunglasses resting there. “If it’s any consolation, I think you look adorable.”_ _

__“Adorable?” TK squawks. “You look hot as hell and I’m adorable? Worst. Halloween. Ever.”_ _

__————————-_ _

__Later that night as they stumble into their bedroom, costumes forgotten on the floor and kisses sugary sweet from ungodly amounts of candy, TK pushes Carlos onto the bed and hovers over him, leaving a trail of kisses down his stomach before pulling away. He takes a moment to look at Carlos in the last remaining moments of Halloween, to remember the way a special kind of happiness softens his features and tugs at the corners of his mouth._ _

__“What’s wrong?” Carlos asks, warm hands coming to rest against TK’s ribs._ _

__“Nothing,” he assures with a quick kiss against the curve of his boyfriend’s smile. “I just wanted one last look at you before Halloween is over.”_ _

__“Why’s that?”_ _

__TK bares his weight on one hand so that he can push back Carlos’ loose curls with the other. “Because of how happy it makes you. I don’t want to forget you like this.”_ _

__Carlos brings his own hand up and cups the side of TK’s face, leans up once to kiss him and then falls back into the pillow with a laugh. “Sweetheart, Halloween isn’t what has made me so happy. Sharing it with you has.”_ _

__TK wishes he had some profound thing to say to that but all that comes out of his mouth is, “Oh.”_ _

__Carlos rolls them until he’s the one hovering and says, “Yeah, oh. Halloween might be my favorite holiday, but you, Tyler Kennedy, make it worthwhile.”_ _

__“Even when I put pumpkin guts in your hair?” TK asks and grins against the kiss Carlos gives him._ _

__“Even then.”_ _

__“And even when I almost broke your hand at the Haunted House?”_ _

__Carlos kisses his nose. “Of course.”_ _

__“And even when I _accidentally_ bleached your Perry the Pumpkin shirt?”_ _

__Carlos bites at his jaw with a playful growl. “Yeah, then to.”_ _

__“And even when I ask you to spend every Halloween with me for the rest of our lives?”_ _

__Carlos pauses for a split second, just long enough to let the implication make him dizzy before he kisses TK slow, sweet, and happy like every Halloween should be spent. “Always.”_ _

__——————-_ _

__It’s well into the first hour of November when TK pulls away from him with a frown._ _

__“Hey, Carlos?”_ _

__“Hmm?”_ _

__“Are there any other big holidays I should know about?”_ _

__“Well, today is Día de los Muertos.”_ _

__TK groans into Carlos’ shoulder. “You’re lucky I love you.”_ _

__“The luckiest.”_ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos are appreciated. Comments are food.   
> Find me on tumblr @ DjDangerLove


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